Laws in India

The Constitution of India provides fundamental protections for all Indians. Most crucially, the constitution protects the Right to Life and a number of derivative rights, including the right to health and the right to be free from cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. The Government of India has developed a number of specific laws to address reproductive rights issues including child marriage, medical termination of pregnancy and sex selection.
To correct fundamental rights violations and to improve the reproductive rights situation in India, the government of India has developed a number of schemes to improve healthcare, to increase institutional deliveries, and to encourage healthy behaviour. Finally, India is a party to a number of international human rights conventions that obligate the government to protect, promote, respect and fulfill reproductive rights.


This section provides a brief overview of existing legal protections in India.

Laws

Victim of a failed sterilisation procedure finally receives a measly Rs 30,000, 11 years later

Access to Contraceptives, Articles, Issues, Media Report, News, Quality of Care, Rajasthan, States, Sterilisation

Gyanibai Meena still remembers how scared she was when her stomach kept swelling seven years ago. The doctors at a primary health centre near her house in Parnala village in Rajasthan’s Pratapgarh district told her that she could have a gaanth or tumour in her stomach. But when she ....
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Baby born to woman who was denied permission to abort dies

Articles, Maharashtra, News, Safe Abortion

A baby, whose mother was denied permission by the Supreme Court to end her pregnancy at 27 weeks, died at Mumbai’s KEM Hospital, the Hindustan Times reported on Friday. The boy was born with a neurological disorder on July 4 and died a fortnight ago. The mother had moved the apex ....
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HRLN receives positive order from the Patna High Court regarding quality of healthcare in Bihar prisons

Articles, Bihar, Case, Litigation, Media Report, News, Quality of Care, Update

HRLN filed a successful public interest litigation petiiton regarding the appalling lack of healthcare provided to prisoners across Bihar. The lack of healthcare services was noted by the High Court, who took a strong view of the situation and ....
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10-year-old Indian rape victim gives birth after a court denies her request for an abortion

Articles, Haryana, News, Safe Abortion

A 10-year-old Indian girl whose parents say she was raped and impregnated by her uncle has reportedly given birth after a court rejected her request for an abortion last month. Doctors at the Government Medical College and Hospital in the northern city of Chandigarh delivered a baby girl through a ....
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Twelve million child marriages, despite decline

Articles, Child Marriage, News

A total of 12 million child marriages have been recorded in the country according to the census data of 2011, of whom 7 million are boys and 5 million are girls below their respective legal age of 21 and 18 years, according to a report released by the National ....
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